BELIEVER IN A DARK TUNNEL The Confessions of Jeremiah

1. BELIEVER IN A DARK TUNNEL The Confessions of Jeremiah

2. Lesson 1 First Indications of Self-Pity Jeremiah 11:18-12:6

3. INTRODUCTION 1. Most believers pass through dark tunnels in their lives—times of despair, discouragement, and even doubt. 2. Jeremiah had five such personal and spiritual crises in his life which we will explore in this series. 3. They occurred about mid-way in his ministry. In each case God dealt with his brooding prophet in a slightly different manner. 4. The great philosopher Popeye said “I’as had allz I can take and I can’t takes me no more”.   5. The first dark tunnel was triggered by the revelation that there was a plot against the prophet in his own hometown.

4. Plot against Jeremiah 11:18-19 1. At times Jeremiah’s enemies almost got the best of him. a. God, however, kept his promise to deliver Jeremiah. b. In the present paragraph Jeremiah experienced his first personal crisis. c. Probably this material is to be assigned to the early years of wicked King Jehoiakim. 18Because the LORD revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19a I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me…

5. 2. Through special revelation Jeremiah learned that the men of his hometown were plotting against him (v 18). a. He never suspected that his neighbors were plotting against him. He was as unsuspecting as a lamb being led to the slaughter. b. Against me is emphatic in the Hebrew sentence. 19b saying, "Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more."

6. c. Jeremiah had been comparing Judah to a tree that God will destroy (vv 16-17). Behind his back the men of Anathoth referred to Jeremiah as the tree that must be destroyed. d. They wished to rid themselves of that tree and its fruit. 1) Tree probably refers to his work, i.e., his prophetic ministry. 2) The conspirators plotted in an effort to find an opportunity to assassinate Jeremiah or have him publicly executed. If the men of Anathoth could slay Jeremiah there would be no descendant to perpetuate his name.

7. PRAYER TO GOD 11:20-21 20a But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind… 1. Yahweh had the power to deal with those who opposed Jeremiah (11:20a). a. The prophet clearly saw himself as an innocent victim who was entitled to divine intervention. b. He believed that the Judge of all the earth will always do what is right (Gn 18:25). c. God alone can test or try the innermost feelings and thoughts of a person.

8. d. Yahweh knew that Jeremiah was utterly sincere in his ministry. There had been no guile or bitterness in his heart. 20b let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. 2. God knew the hypocrisy and the evil intent of the men of Anathoth (v 20b). a. Jeremiah was confident of the verdict that the righteous Judge will render in his behalf. b. Divine vengeance will be poured out upon the evil schemers. Thus the cause of God and his prophet will be vindicated.

9. c. Vengeance comes from a root that refers to the exercise of sovereignty. By challenging the credibility of Jeremiah the conspirators were attacking the sovereign appointment of Yahweh. d. Therefore their conduct called for divine action to punish their brazen rebellion against the sovereign Lord. e. Jeremiah needed only to reveal his case to God and the just verdict will be rendered.

10. f. God, of course, was aware of the plight of the prophet; Jeremiah was not telling God something that he did not already know. g. To revealone’s case is to plead formally before the bar of justice. 21 "Therefore this is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, 'Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD or you will die by our hands'-- 3. The guilt of those who were scheming against Jeremiah is established in v 21. a. When the conspiracy against Jeremiah was exposed the men of Anathoth openly began to threaten the life of the prophet.

11. b. They were guilty of trying to silence Jeremiah, a covenant ambassador of the Great King. c. Only if Jeremiah ceased to prophesy in the name of Yahweh would his life be spared. The threats made by the men of Anathoth were not idle. These men meant business. d. From this day forward Jeremiah put his life on the line every time he uttered an oracle in the name of Yahweh.

12. VERDICT OF THE JUDGE 11:22-23 22 therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 1. Therefore is the traditional introduction to a divine sentence in a covenant courtroom. 2. Punishment was about to fall upon the plotters of Anathoth. 3. The verdict confirmed that Jeremiah was a genuine prophet. He had the full support of the Great King.

13. 4. The young men of military age will die by the sword of the enemy. Younger children will die in the famine which resulted from prolonged siege. 23 Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.'" 5.No remnant of the Anathoth conspirators will survive the calamity that God was about to bring upon the land. 6. The year of their visitation or punishment had come. They will not be able to escape the ruthless armies of Nebuchadnezzar.

14. A COMPLAINT TO GOD 12:1-4 1. Some time elapsed after Jeremiah confidently submitted his case to God (11:20). a. The verdict had been rendered in favor of the prophet (11:22-23); but the sentence had been delayed. b. The enemies of the prophet continued to prosper. c. They lived a life of ease while Jeremiah’s circumstances became ever more difficult. d. Jeremiah reopened his case in the heavenly courtroom.

15. 1 You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? 2. Jeremiah built his prayer on the fundamental premise of faith, viz. God is righteous (v 1a). a. This means that Yahweh will keep his promises. b. He will intervene in powerful ways when a promise appears to be failing. c. Yet Jeremiah was perplexed. He wished to inquire concerning Yahweh’s judgment, i.e., his dealings with the sons of men. d. The term judgment in this context is essentially equivalent to the term “government.”

16. 3. Jeremiah’s case had to do with the issue of theodicy, i.e., why the wicked prosper (v 1b). a. His first question assumed that the wicked do prosper. This assumption is not disputed anywhere in Scripture. b. Live peacefully is used of what a believer experiences (Ps 122:6) or should experience. 1) Job, however, complained that he lacked peace (Job 3:26). 2) Even robbers (Job 12:6) and Jerusalem’s enemies (Lam 1:5) enjoy peace much to the chagrin of the devout. c. In reality he was making an accusation against Yahweh as the next verse clearly shows.

17. 2 You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. 4. Jeremiah concluded that evil men prosper because God blesses them (v 2). a. God had planted them, and they had taken root; they continued to grow (Hebrew imperfect), ever expanding into new areas of influence. b. They had produced fruit, i.e., their plans seemed to be successful. c. While it was true that these men were outwardly pious, God was far from their hearts.

18. 3a Yet you know me, O LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. 5. Jeremiah presented himself as a righteous petitioner seeking redress of grievances from a righteous God (v 3a). a. Yahweh knew his prophet (cf. 1:5); he observed him continuously (Hebrew imperfect). b. God knew that Jeremiah was not hypocritical when he spoke about God. c. How then can God allow his faithful servant to continue to be harassed by his adversaries?

19. 3b drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! 6. The prophet had no doubt what he would do if he were the judge. a. He wanted the adversaries removed from the scene (v 3b). b. What his adversaries were plotting against him he desired for them. c. This imprecation may not quite be as bad as it appears on the surface. God already had pronounced sentence against these wicked men (11:22-23). d. Jeremiah then is simply asking that the sentence be executed speedily.

20. 4a How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. 7. The rhetorical question how long is a complaint (v 4a). a. The reference is probably to some disciplinary drought that God had sent upon the land in order to cause the people to realize the folly of sin. b. Nature itself—the land, the vegetation, the cattle and the birds—suffered because of wicked people.

21. 4b Moreover, the people are saying, "He will not see what happens to us." 8. One example of the wickedness of his opponents is their taunting of God’s messenger (v 4b). a. At the very least the adversaries were confident that they would outlive Jeremiah. b. Perhaps they will see to it that they outlived Jeremiah, i.e., they will get rid of him.

22. GOD’S RESPONSE 12:5-6 1. God replied to his prophet, but not in the way that Jeremiah anticipated. a. He had received supportive responses to his past complaints (1:8, 9); but this hard-nosed response was a reprimand. b. God did not explain the delay in the execution of the sentence against the ungodly. c. He did not promise any cessation of hostilities against his servant. d. The divine reply is designed to correct the impatience of Jeremiah.

23. 5a "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? 2. Yahweh revealed further difficulties ahead for the prophet. a. Things had been bad for the prophet; but they were going to get worse (v 5). b. God compared Jeremiah’s present problems to running with foot racers. The future adversity he faced will be like running a foot race against horses. c. If Jeremiah could not cope with the relatively minor hostility of the present how would he endure the severe trials of the future?

24. 5b If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? d. Jeremiah was currently passing through a peaceful land, i.e., a land where one is secure; but shortly he will be forced to fight his way through tangled brush. 1) The pride of Jordan is that ribbon of lush vegetation that grows on either side of the twisting, winding Jordan River. 2) This area was infested with vicious wild animals and dangerous outlaws. e. Days were coming in comparison with which the present troubles of the prophet will appear as days of peace.

25. 6a Your brothers, your own family-- even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. 3. As one example of what was ahead for the prophet God revealed to him that even the members of his own family could not be trusted (v 6). a. Brothers are kinfolks in a broad sense; house of your father refers to more immediate family members. b. These relatives have plotted against him. They have cried aloud after Jeremiah as one cries after a criminal who is being hunted down.

26. 6b Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. c. Even though they speak kind words to the prophet’s face he should not be deceived. Such outward manifestations of cordiality were but a cloak for their nefarious schemes. 4. God goes on the paragraph that follows to reveal his personal pain at the unfolding circumstances in Judah.

27. CONCLUSION So God responded to Jeremiah’s first tunnel experience in two ways. 1. God told him that worse was yet to come. 2. God revealed to the prophet that compared to the divine pain, his pain was relatively insignificant. Application Sometimes we become so focused on ourselves that we forget that God experiences pain when he is rejected and forced by his justice to punish that rejection.

28. NEXT LESSON Calling God Names Jeremiah 15:10-21